Indian Balloon flight covers...contd

click on image to see larger picture



Reverse of above cover with various postmarks:

The first hot air balloon license given to an Indian was to Mr. Vishwa Bandhu Gupta at Livermore, California, U.S.A. on 15th November,1972. He was the only Indian pilot to participate in the Hot-Air Balloon Championship at Alburquerque, U.S.A. on February, 1973.

‘Udan Khatola’, the first hot air balloon built by the Ballooning club of India on 20th September, 1973 had its inaugural flight at Safdarganj airport on 7th October, 1973.

To celebrate Air Mail Day, a Balloon flight carrying was organised on 16th November, 1973 during the International Philatelic Exhibition (Indipex-73) in Delhi on the exhibition ground by Mr. Vishwa Bandh Gupta. About 2000 numbered covers were carried in the balloon. The mail carried a pictorial cancellation of the day. Some covers were signed by the pilot of the balloon stamped with a balloon shaped cachet reading ‘Flown in Balloon Udan Khatola’ India’s first hot air balloon at Indipex 1973.

Happy New Year

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL - I WISH YOU GOOD HEALTH AND HAPPY COLLECTING DURING THE YEAR 2009. MAY IT BE THE BEST YEAR EVER.

Here are a few fist day covers of Christmas stamps issued by New Zealand

Christmas Stamps

Christmas has come and gone. How many of us have seen the Ghosts of Christmases past? The good ones, the bad ones and the ugly ones!

And now its almost time to usher in the New Year and its time for stock taking - look back to go forward!!

Thinking of Christmases past philatelically my thoughts turn to Christmas stamps issued every year by Christian countries.

The first Christmas stamp was issued by Canada in December, 1898. It was not specifically a Christmas stamp but bore the inscription "XMAS 1898 and depicted the British Empire. Canada first issued stamps specifically for Christmas in 1964 and every year thereafter.



Stamps with Christmas related themes had been issued by England and Netherlands but were not specific Christmas Stamps.

Austria issued the first Christmas stamp in 1937 - but the theme was not Christmassy.

Great Britain started issuing Christmas stamps from 1966. But Australia had beaten them to it as they started issuing Christmas stamps from 1957 (shown above). They commemorated the 50 anniversary last year.

Several countries started issuing stamps thereafter. The first US Christmas stamp was issued in 1962.

Merry Christmas

First Day Cover of Christmas Stamps issued by Christmas Islands















Australian Aerogramme

Merry Christmas

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Christmas stamps issued by Australia on maximum cards.

Balloon flights in India ...contd

Next balloon flight activity was in 1970 when the Ballooning Club of India was inaugurated on 23rd November, 1970 by American astronaut Mr. Neil Armstrong, in Delhi. A Balloon flight in a hydrogen gas balloon ‘Nimbus’ piloted by the Dutch balloonists Jan Boesman and Nini Boseman with Mr. Vishwa Bandhu Gupta as the sole passenger, took off from Safdarganj Airport and landed at Kalazafargarh village on the outskirts of Delhi .

The flight was organised by the Aero Club of India to commemorate the centenary of the first balloon mail flight of the world in 1870 in Paris, France. Posts and Telegraph Department of India provided a pictorial cancellation to commemorate the occasion. Covers flown in the balloon bear the postmark of 21^st November, 1970 and a special cachet in green showing actual date of the balloon flight on 23^rd November, 1970.